A diverse coalition of education advocates will gather on May 9, 2019 to kick off a campaign to urge the elected officials of Harford County to prioritize education in Harford County and increase funding. A rally will take place before the County Council Budget Hearing at 7 pm.

Who: Speakers include Chrystie Crawford-Smick, Harford County teacher and Harford County Education Association President; Joe Voskhul, Former Principal of Bel Air High School and President of the Harford County Board of Education; Dr. Stacey Garringer, Association of Public School Administrators and Supervisors of Harford County; and Joshua Oltarzewski, Harford Technical High School Senior

When: Thursday, May 9, 2019

Where: Activists will begin at 5:30 from 102 S. Hickory Avenue and the rally will conclude at Harford County Council Chambers 212 S. Bond Street, Bel Air, MD. The speaking program will begin at 5:50 pm

Background: Harford County Public Schools ranks 24th out of 24 counties in the State of Maryland in terms of per pupil funding. The systematic underfunding of Harford County Public Schools is going to have a lasting impact on our community. Each year since 2011 Harford County Public Schools has been forced to cuts positions each year. This year is no different. 153 classroom teachers, 26 school based administrators and numerous other central office positions have been eliminated for the 19-20 school year. Harford County students will have many less opportunities and larger class sizes next year unless this changes. Additional funding can be used to restore some of these positions and advocates will call for additional funding at the event in order to do so.

It is important to understand the school funding mechanism before writing that Harford is doing something wrong. As far as what Harford County locally spends per student they are middle of the pack and a little below average. Baltimore city spends the third most per student, but most of that money comes from state. The state per pupil spending in Baltimore City is almost twice that of Harford County. I don’t think anyone wants to move their kid to a city school due to higher funding.

Now the elections are over and the votes are bought and paid for the music changes. Don’t worry folks the politicians will be promising you the world again in no time flat and you will forget how they screwed you in the off years. This county is really full of uninformed idiots.

If we don’t stand up and fight for what’s right, the only change will be for the worst. If you can’t be there, write to Glassman, et al, and let then know what you think about the “new and improved” proposed HCPS.

If we, the people who are paying for it, don’t make a stand now, how can we expect our children to stand and deliver when it’s their turn? If it’s not for our kids, then we are just wasting our time. Cheaping out on education is false economics at its worst.

Shouldn’t we be writing Hogan and our representatives to the state in order to create a fairer distribution of state education dollars? If Harford County just got the average amount spent by the state per student, our spending per student would go up $1000 or about 13.5%. I don’t know about everyone else, but my state tax bill is enormous and it seems that my state tax dollars are not coming back to my county. I’m not too mad at the local government they fund education ranked 13th out of 24 Counties. I think Baltimore City needs to give up some of those state dollars so that we get a more equitable distribution of funding per student.

Vulgarity is no substitute for wit. If we gave each student the same amount then it would be an equitable distribution. Why should a well run locality have to subsidize a poorly run locality where the mayors do things like steal gift cards and funnel money to themselves via crony book deals. My point is simple don’t complain about local funding, when we are not getting a fair shake from the state funding. We already pay the high state income tax for education. Why would I want to raise my property taxes when we should be getting more return from the state? Demand better of your representatives, don’t tax yourself more because the state is taking advantage you.

Point is there are 9 counties that fall below Harford county with Wicomico and Caroline both coming it per student at $4000 less, so where does the money come from? Why are Wicomicos numbers so good yet they are almost dead last in state funding?

Because Worcester is the wealthiest county in Maryland relative to student enrollment at $1,197,214 per pupil (using the state’s definition of wealth which considers income and value of assessed property). Harford is below average for wealth at $511,772 per pupil compared to the statewide average of $558,979.

The real issue here is why can’t Harford County Board of Education (HCBE) , make its resources fit its budget. Give raises based on your resources vs promising teachers raises that are beyond its scope of resources available . This forces out new teachers so experienced teachers receive raises that are in excess of the amount the Harford Co employees receive.

HCBE is in this situation because it has increased salaries at 2 to 3 times the funding that was allocated to county employees. All the money annually goes to teacher and staff salaries , there have been no increases to classroom support for years. They sit on a 1.7 million fund to pay for unused sick time when they retire which is also reported to the state for their pension, double dipping. The legislative auditors have written them up for it in 2012 to discontinue the practice

They are the only county with this practice, Be fiscally responsible and stop whining to the public that you are underfunded. Neweachers now make more than most kids graduating from college for their first job

If you want quality education for the youth, you need to be willing to pony up the money to hire quality teachers. If you want to attract quality teachers, and keep them, then you need to offer a salary that is attractive to the best and the brightest from college. That isn’t going to happen when you have boards of education and county councils under-fund budgets for years.

John Quincy Adams was also the son of an ambassador and a President. As a child he was taken around the world when his father was sent overseas on diplomatic missions and spent several months to several years living in various foreign countries including most European countries and Russia. He also was later an ambassador himself before being elected President.

The average person in the early 1800’s was barely literate let alone fluent in multiple languages.

John Quincy Adams would be better compared to the children of the elite political class like the Clintons, Bushes, Kenedys, etc.

This process just sickens me. Not only will it affect the children in this county but teachers will look elsewhere to work, whether it’s in the education field or something else. It’s time that the Harford County bigwigs start acting responsibly. Maybe if they get rid of some of the layers in government, there would be more funds for the students.

And that’s a good point. If you’re working for HCPS, how can you get fired besides obvious funding cuts/no money for your job position or someone with criminal charges/conviction?

What type of performance rating system is there? Or is there none? As in, how does the “boss” rate the teachers or does it not work like that? You get paid $45,000 and the other person gets paid $45,000 regardless of what either do. Obviously there are some pay increase gimmicks like “coaching” but?

I guess the “trouble makers” just get transferred around, rather than fired like they would in a non Government job?

What type of disciplinary actions are there? And how far do they reach? As in, you’re late everyday. Is it “bluffed” you’re going to face “serious consequences” it seeks like they are desperate for recruitment so I can’t imagine that would be the case.

Just because you are unaware of the teacher evaluation and rating system doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. There is a clearly defined procedure for yearly evaluation and a step-by-step list of consequences for poorly performing teachers. These steps end with teacher termination. This system applies to all tenured and non-tenured teachers, however non-tenured teachers don’t get the benefit of the intermediary steps between a poor evaluation and termination.

Here is the way it works. They myth bad teachers can’t be fired, this is just not true. A non-tenured teacher is observed by administration 4 times a year. If those don’t go well they can be let go, or they can also not receive tenure. It takes 4 years for a teacher to be eligible for tenure. Once tenured the number of observations drop. But a tenured teacher can be fired. It just doesn’t happen very often. Of course if a teacher does something like hit a kid, or steal they can be fired on the spot. Teacher contracts are year to year.

As for funding, the state funding system is based off of how wealthy the county is. The wealthier the county the less state funding. Depending upon where you look Harford county ranks somewhere between 4th and 7th in the state, but the county funds at one of the lowest levels. This is where the problem is.

The public doesn’t see it, but the climate in the schools is really bad. The schools will be open and the teachers will teach. Most are now happy with just doing enough to maintain a satisfactory rating. Few are doing the extras or the job it takes to achieve the highly effective rating.

I disagree that they fund at one of the lowest levels. They are 13th out of 24, see my post above for a link to 2018 school funding.

Why should students in different districts receive different funding levels? Just by giving every student the same amount. You are giving the poorer communities more funding than they could afford since the average amount per student is raised by the affluent areas , but not penalizing the affluent areas for being well off. Funding differences of over 100% is absurd.

contributions from both the state and the county to HCPS have increased substantial for the proposed budget (many millions of dollars)
+
cut in positions within the school system
=
massive salary increases for educators

HCPS has received enough additional funding to give teachers approximately an 8% salary increase; however, the board has not released this information. Why has HCPS not provided this update to teachers? Because they want the county/state government to take the blame for their mismanagement of funds.
Teachers: You will be getting a pay increase; that increase could be very substantial…it just depends on what the board decides to do with the extra millions and millions of dollars they received this year. Your march yesterday was impactful but misdirected. If anything, you should be marching to the school board and asking them why they are stringing you along and why are they not giving the updated information that they have.

That’s just false. When the county executive makes claims that the increase in funding is directed at increasing salaries, he is just blowing political smoke. Operating costs go up every year, and the county funding has failed to keep pace. An 8% raise for HCPS employees would have to be counterbalanced by hundreds of more position cuts. The budget numbers for the school system are very clearly presented in all of their materials and have been shared continually at board meetings and by the superintendent. Money isn’t hidden or mismanaged. There simply isn’t enough of it to go around. Education is an expensive INVESTMENT that pays dividends in the communities that prioritize it. Harford County is not one of those communities. Too many residents are trying to cling to the bygone era of being a “rural farming community”, which we are not anymore. While it is an important part of our heritage, and still an important part of the complete makeup of the county, it is not a true picture of where we are right now.

Yet, the county continues to elect officials that claim to represent, and preserve, this rural way of life….all while selling out to developers behind the backs of their constituents.

The county is playing fast and loose with HCPS funding, probably hoping to justify a property tax rate increase in the near future.

Since the role of the educational system is to prepare young people for their role as citizens in the U. S. of A., that should be the priority of any school district. The money for education should come at the top of the budget, not somewhere between the middle and bottom of priorities.

I know there is enough fat in the current budget that this supposedly necessary cut in funding for the schools is not actually necessary. If cuts are necessary, let them occur with some other program that is not so fundamental important to the future of the next generation. The current budget is over 900 pages of jargon and unexplained numbers. Who knows what pork lurks within its depths?

Lots of pork….guaranteed many pockets are being greased and the tax hikes will come before the next election. Early enough so everyone forgets at election time. There is no accountability. The taxpayer gets stuck with the bill as usual.

This is what we get when we elect a republican county government. Schools are socialism and will be held in check for the good of elected officials. Uneducated voters vote republican expect more of the same

I hear in some blue States that homicide is a daily event and law enforcement has been subdued to the point of ineffectiveness. I wonder if those States will ever realize that if law enforcement concentrates on Common Law and stops enforcing the law of government employees on every day citizens whom have harmed no one that the people will respect and aid them in their efforts? I guess we won’t ever find out in Maryland because our Corporate State Government is in itself an act of treason against the United States and looks at the State’s own Constitution as a piece of toilet paper that the legislature wipes their ass with every day. Someone needs to invoke Article 6 and demand the reform of Maryland’s government or instill a new one in its place…..

So what is Harford Counties excuse? They seem to be doing little to stem crime. Every day there seems to be another article about it. Prosecute and lock up everyone for everything isn’t working. You would think those in positions of leadership could figure that out. Alas….

The CE has allocated $10 million of additional funds for teacher salaries, the state has already given an additional $6 million, and HCPS just qualified to receive another $3 million from the state…so the school board will have almost $20 million dollars of extra funding, most of which is designated to teacher salary increase. Truly, that is enough to be about an 8% raise.

The school board knows this but isn’t sharing it because they want teachers to believe they have been underfunded (they only got $10 million additional from the county not the $15 million they asked for) which to the misinformed individual looks like under funding; however, because of the other additional contributions there is no lack of funding.

Many are upset with the CE, but again I stress, that should be directed toward the school board.

Of course, this will all play out. Once the county budget is set, and the school board know they’ve gotten all they will get, they will then announce that because of the cuts and their savvy managing they are able to give all teachers raises…at that point everyone who hated on the CE and council should probably stop and say thank you, but they won’t.

I know this is all hard to believe; however, when Glassman’s budget was first released the HCEA president commended the CE for giving so much additional funding to HCPS. She has back tracked on that statement at this point, but her initial reaction was that the additional funding was a very good thing. Check it out…there is your proof.

You are the perfect example of what the misinformation campaign by the CE is supposed to create.

Your comments show a complete lack of understanding of the school budget situation.

The CE cannot designers funds be spent on raises….period. He has no authority to do that. Even if the BOE chose to use all of the additional funding period by the CE for salary increases, they would have them have to go into debt to pay for every other part of the budget where they are incur increases, especially health care.

I strongly encourage you to go to the HCPS website and watch anyone of the number of presentations available by the Superintendent so that you can see for yourself the impact of the current situation.

What you fail or choose not to understand is that the long-term failure of both Glassman and Craig to fund the school system force the system into a deficit spending scenario that much of the requested amount will go to “right sizing” the budget. Glassman sits on $100 million+ fund balance while the Board has used its fund balance to pay for reoccurring expenses. Perhaps Barry is saving all that money to pay for his screwup with the Joppa landfill lawsuit.

Not always true Cdev. Certain groups of people are hired to fulfill statistical requirements even though they may not be or are not qualified. Once in they are practically Teflon. I give you Baltimore City government at almost all levels

The amount of misinformation being spread is insane. Simple research is all that is needed. The funding request to the county from the Board of Ed included the anticipated wage package they were negotiating with all of their employee unions. That budget also included over 100 position cuts. The county executive approved less funding, resulting in a higher number of position cuts needed to balance the budget.

It is not a unique situation, it is contract law. When someone signs a contract that includes a sum of money to be paid for services rendered, that money is “owed”. Steps based on years of successful service are included in the contract.

The wage negotiations always indicate if funding is available as an “out” to not lock the amount in. Therefore the funding is not available and HCPS needs to downgrade the raises to the resources available. Pretty simple math without preying on the public sentiment